169. Deputy John Halligan asked the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government if he will provide details of the number of former semi-State agency executives or employees, on an agency basis, in receipt of pensions in excess of €90,000 per year; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [52156/12]
154. Deputy John Halligan asked the Minister for Communications, Energy and Natural Resources if he will provide details of the number of former semi-State agency executives or employees, on an agency basis, in receipt of pensions in excess of €90,000 per year; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [52153/12]
144. Deputy John Halligan asked the Minister for Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht if he will provide details of the number of former semi-State agency executives or employees, on an agency basis, in receipt of pensions in excess of €90,000 per year; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [52151/12]
141. Deputy John Halligan asked the Minister for Social Protection if she will provide details of the number of former semi-State agency executives or employees, on an agency basis, in receipt of pensions in excess of €90,000 per year; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [52160/12]
120. Deputy John Halligan asked the Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation if he will provide details of the number of former semi-State agency executives or employees, on an agency basis, in receipt of pensions in excess of €90,000 per year; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [52159/12]
95. Deputy John Halligan asked the Minister for Education and Skills if he will provide details of the number of former semi-State agency executives or employees, on an agency basis, in receipt of pensions in excess of €90,000 per year; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [52155/12]
72. Deputy John Halligan asked the Minister for Education and Skills if his attention has been drawn to the consequences that come with raising the student contribution charge. [51673/12]
71. Deputy John Halligan asked the Minister for Education and Skills if he will provide an alternative to the Student Assistance Fund which will cease to exist after 2013 and his plan to make further cuts to the maintenance grant. [51671/12]
69. Deputy John Halligan asked the Minister for Finance if he will provide details of the number of former semi-State agency executives or employees, on an agency basis, in receipt of pensions in excess of €90,000 per year; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [52157/12]
32. Deputy John Halligan asked the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform if any public service cuts he is considering in budget 2013 will be weighed up against the possible impact on front-line services and on the wider macroeconomic environment; if so, the way he intends to do same; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [51615/12]
30. Deputy John Halligan asked the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform if he will provide details of the number of former semi-State agency executives or employees, on an agency basis, in receipt of pensions in excess of €90,000 per year; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [51616/12]
175. Deputy John Halligan asked the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government if he will give a commitment not to reduce current levels of funding given to The Arts Council of Ireland and local authorities as further cuts would result in job losses within the Arts sector here which currently employs 20,755 persons; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [50739/12]
174. Deputy John Halligan asked the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government the pay scale currently used in the fire services; specifically, the annual salary and expenses payable to fire chiefs, assistant fire chiefs, senior assistant chiefs, fire prevention chiefs, full-time fire fighters and part-time fire fighters. [50737/12]
173. Deputy John Halligan asked the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government the number of fire chiefs, assistant fire chiefs, senior assistant chiefs, fire prevention chiefs, full-time fire fighters and part-time fire fighters currently employed in County Waterford; the number of part-time fire fighters that have resigned from the services in County Waterford in 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011 and 2012; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [50736/12]
154. Deputy John Halligan asked the Minister for Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht if he will give a commitment not to reduce current levels of funding given to The Arts Council of Ireland and local authorities in view of the fact that further cuts would result in job losses within the Arts sector here which currently employs 20,755 persons; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [50740/12]
41. Deputy John Halligan asked the Minister for Finance if there is any further update on dealing with Ireland's legacy debt following the ECOFIN meeting; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [50523/12]
268. Deputy John Halligan asked the Minister for Health if the promised second adult diabetes endocrinologist consultant post will soon be awarded in Waterford Regional Hospital; when this post will be filled; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [50431/12]
267. Deputy John Halligan asked the Minister for Health if he will give a commitment to have the podiatry post filled in Waterford Regional Hospital as it has been in hospitals in Dublin, Galway and Limerick; if he will acknowledge that the filling of this post is critical to tackling diabetes foot disease in the community and keeping persons with this health complication out of hospital, healthy and mobile; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [50430/12]
253. Deputy John Halligan asked the Minister for Health further to Parliamentary Question No. 49 of 24 October 2012, if any members of his Department or any Irish officials will be attending the COP5 fifth session of the Conference of the Parties to the WHO framework Convention on Tobacco Control which is due to take place in Seoul on 12 to 17 November 2012; if so, if he will provide details of this delegation; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [50307/12]
180. Deputy John Halligan asked the Minister for Social Protection her views on the proposals to cut additional payments to parents of multiple births in budget 2013 (details supplied); and if she will make a statement on the matter. [50553/12]
623. Deputy John Halligan asked the Minister for Health if he will confirm the date the independent hospital review group is due to report back to him; if he will agree that a reconfiguration of hospitals within the south east with Waterford Regional Hospital at its central core is the most strategic way forward; if he acknowledges that a critical mass of 500,000 people living in the south east region makes a south east hospital network the most viable option; if he will confirm that any reconfiguration which takes place at Waterford Regional Hospital will not diminish WRH's status as a level four category hospital; if he will provide details of the review groups terms of reference; if he will further confirm if the group was instructed to take into account the fact that increases in travel times for patients and relatives are materially relative to gains in clinical outcomes; if the group has met and taken into consideration the views of the South East Hospital Working Group; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [49707/12]
141. Deputy John Halligan asked the Minister for Social Protection if she will respond to evidence that new rent allowance limits are resulting in tenants becoming homeless and or living in overcrowded situations; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [49917/12]
106. Deputy John Halligan asked the Minister for Social Protection if she will examine the cases of persons (details supplied) in relation to community welfare offices having flexibility in making payments. [49921/12]
55. Deputy John Halligan asked the Minister for Health if his attention has been drawn to concerns being raised by home helps with regards to their lack of contracts and conditions of employment; his plans to take action regarding same; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [41677/12]
23. Deputy John Halligan asked the Minister for Health his plans to ensure that there are standard contracts with detailed terms and conditions for workers in the home help sector; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [41676/12]
215. Deputy John Halligan asked the Minister for Health his plans to review the mobility allowance for persons over 66 years of age; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [48893/12]
214. Deputy John Halligan asked the Minister for Health if he will provide a progress report on the review of accident and emergency service at St. Columcille's Hospital, Loughlinstown, County Dublin; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [48891/12]
135. Deputy John Halligan asked the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government further to Parliamentary Question No. 427 of 23 October 2012, in view of increasing levels of anti-social behaviour being reported here at the moment, the number of warrants issued and evictions being sought noted in his response seems to be very low; if he will clarify the number of the noted complaints and evictions recorded for 2010 and 2011 that related to Waterford city and county councils respectively; if he will further clarify the number of anti social behaviour officers employed in city and county councils across the State; the number of staff allocated to these antisocial behaviour departments within local authorities and the cost to the relevant local authority. [48841/12]
107. Deputy John Halligan asked the Minister for Social Protection the reason behind the decision to allocate further staff resources to new applications for carer's allowance in an effort reduce processing times while old applications, that is, those received prior to a certain date are still being subjected to delays, some of which have already been waiting over a year for a decision; her vies on whether it would have been more prudent to allocate the extra staff to clear the backlog while still dealing with newer applications at a speedier pace; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [48842/12]
141. Deputy John Halligan asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the input he had, in the decision to grant an exploratory licence to a company (details supplied) to drill and conduct seismic surveys in the major fishing area of Dublin Bay and the Kish Bank. [48409/12]
38. Deputy John Halligan asked the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs in view of the threatened closure of the 24 hour emergency service at Angels Quest, the plans she has to ensure that children will not be adversely affected by cuts to essential services; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [46737/12]
30. Deputy John Halligan asked the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs in the interests of the welfare of the children at Angels Quest in Glenageary, County Dublin, if he will request that the staff and funding be made available to ensure that the 24 hour emergency service is maintained; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [46735/12]
179. Deputy John Halligan asked the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government the financial cost associated with the recent letters posted to homes in Waterford city this week in relation to the household charge; from whom the list of names was obtained; if his attention has been drawn to the fact that many of these letters were forwarded to persons who are now deceased; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [46844/12]
54. Deputy John Halligan asked the Minister for Finance if he will explain the way in which taxes (details supplied) are used and the matters they fund [46684/12]
49. Deputy John Halligan asked the Minister for Finance if he will detail in tabular form the number of illicit cigarettes that have been seized by the Revenue Commission and Gardaí to date in 2012; if he could detail the source of origin of these cigarettes; if he can provide an estimate of the monetary value of the illicit cigarette trade here to those engaged in the smuggling and sale of illicit cigarettes; if he will provide an estimate of the cost to the Exchequer and legitimate retailers of the illicit cigarette trade; if any co-operation takes place between the Revenue Commissioners, the Gardaí and his Department, the Department of Justice and the Department of Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation in formulating and implementing policy in relation to the illicit cigarette trade; his plans to adopt any additional measures to counteract the damage the illicit cigarette trade causes by exposing minors to unregulated supplies of tobacco, such as those recommended by Retail Ireland in their August 2012 report Tackling the Black Market and Retail Crime; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [46636/12]
436. Deputy John Halligan asked the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government in view of the fact that under a directive from his Department that both the public and disabled toilets in Tramore, County Waterford have been closed for the foreseeable future, the reason this directive was enforced; if he will reconsider the indefinite closure of this vital public service; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [46273/12]
427. Deputy John Halligan asked the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government the number of complaints received by local authorities in 2010 and 2011 as a result of anti-social behaviour; the number of evictions that have been carried out by local authorities as a result of these complaints; the steps being taken to combat anti-social behaviour; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [45938/12]
366. Deputy John Halligan asked the Minister for Social Protection in relation to her acknowledgement that parents should not lose the one parent family payment when their youngest child reaches the age of seven unless a comprehensive system of Scandinavian style childcare is in place; if she will fulfil her promise to ensure the introduction of affordable childcare or after-school care nationally before the implementation of the new one parent family payment cut off point of seven years of age; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [46334/12]
120. Deputy John Halligan asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade if he will clarify the rationale behind the Passport Office ceasing to issue same day emergency or temporary one journey passports to the public, where an emergency arises in a business situation the financial burden which results from a persons inability to freely travel can have devastating implications for small businesses (details supplied); his plans to provide Irish citizens with travel documentation to facilitate more flexible travel within the EU; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [45949/12]
89. Deputy John Halligan asked the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government with regards to the recent Foreshore Licence granted to Providence Resources to drill an exploratory well just six kms from the Dublin coastline, if he is satisfied that no Environmental Impact Assessment was required under EU Directive 85/337/EEC; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [46185/12]
75. Deputy John Halligan asked the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government with regards to the recent Foreshore Licence granted to Providence Resources to drill an exploratory well just six kms from the Dublin coastline, if he believes he complied with the rules of the Aarhus Convention; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [46183/12]
51. Deputy John Halligan asked the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government if he will bring forward a statement on the way in which he intends to proceed with the merging of Waterford City and county councils; specifically, the way in which a unified Waterford authority will be better positioned to address the many economic challenges facing Waterford; the legislative changes that will be required in the reorganisation process; the key issues and challenges that have been identified in the actual merger process; if any particular early priorities in service delivery are likely to be achieved ahead of the merger; location of the headquarters of the new authority is likely to be located; if he will provide details of the Waterford Implementation Group’s terms of reference; the reason the boundary area between Waterford and Kilkenny was not addressed in the reform programme; the amount being saved by Waterford City and county councils through local government efficiency savings since 2010; if those savings already accrued are included in the estimated €5 million savings to be brought about by the proposed reforms in Waterford; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [46507/12]
73. Deputy John Halligan asked the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport if he will confirm the policy for filling vacant positions in semi state agencies; if Dun Laoghaire Harbour Company is subject to this policy; if he will confirm that the said harbour company has always recruited according to this policy; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [45205/12]
66. Deputy John Halligan asked the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport if he will launch an independent investigation into the event of February 2010 when a dinner took place in the Royal Marine Hotel hosted by the Dun Laoghaire Harbour Company chief executive officer and if he will confirm how this event was paid for; the amount this event cost; if he will provide a breakdown of what the costs were for; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [45204/12]
5. Deputy John Halligan asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade if he will formally condemn and further call upon the Royal College of Surgeons of Ireland, the Royal College of Physicians of Ireland and the Medical Council of Ireland to unreservedly condemn the arrest, sentencing and ill treatment of a number of Bahraini medics, who were trained by the RCSI at its university in Bahrain (details supplied); if he will publicly call for their convictions to be immediately overturned and for the Bahraini authorities to show compassion and humanity; if he will call upon the King of Bahrain to intervene and correct the injustices committed, by commuting the prison sentences; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [45198/12]
649. Deputy John Halligan asked the Minister for Health the waiting times for patients awaiting x-rays in hospitals throughout the country where they have not been referred as either an in-patient or through the accident and emergency department; his views on whether this is a reasonable time; his plans to address same; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [44436/12]
107. Deputy John Halligan asked the Minister for Social Protection if she has consulted or is planning to consult with the Department of Children and Youth Affairs, in the interests of the imprescriptible rights of children with regard to any planned cuts to child benefit, back to school allowance, family income supplement, back to education allowance, carer's allowance, disability benefit and all other social protection payments which can impact on child welfare; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [44580/12]
85. Deputy John Halligan asked the Minister for Social Protection if she will gender-proof Budget 2013 before publication to ensure that women will not be disproportionately affected by cuts; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [44579/12]
54. Deputy John Halligan asked the Minister for Social Protection the position in relation to transferring the responsibility for the provision of sick pay from the State to employers for the first two to four weeks of illness; if she intends bringing forward accompanying legislation to require employers to pay full sick leave to employees; if she has had any consultations with employers groups IBEC or ISME regarding the implications of this proposal; her views on whether this would widen the gap between the public and private sectors in terms of job security; if she has reached any conclusions on the way they might adequately manage the levels of absenteeism which exists in Government Departments; if she will acknowledge that moving the responsibility of the provision of sick pay entitlements to employers would affect the private sector placing an additional unsupportable burden on many employers who are already struggling in the current economic climate; if she is considering a State sponsored insurance scheme that could mitigate the burden for smaller firms; if she will now acknowledge that this proposal may in fact make Ireland less competitive internationally at a time when we should be promoting markets, creating opportunities for businesses to grow and create sustainable employment; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [44934/12]